Seven dozen teams featuring drivers from 41 different countries in 25 different makes of car are preparing for the eighth Dunlop 24 Hours of Dubai, which starts at 2 p.m. local time (5 a.m. ET) on Friday, Jan 13 at the Dubai Autodrome.
The Dubai 24, the first major endurance race of the season, is part of the 24-Hour series sponsored by Dutch company Creventic which includes Australia’s Bathurst 12 Hours (Feb. 10,) Twelve Hours of Hungary (April 6,) and the Barcelona 24 Hours (Sept. 7–8.)
All of these races feature fields of the most exotic GT machinery on the planet, with cars from Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Porsche, Lamborghini and Ferrari, and McLaren competing with Aston, Lotus, Corvette, Nissan, and a Dodge Viper; plus sports coupes from Renault, Honda, Mini, Seat, and Volkswagen; lesser-known brands like Ginetta, racing specials like the GC Automobile GC10, and one-offs like the VDS GT 001-R.
This wide variety of cars is divided into nine classes, creating races within the race. The most attention goes to the top class, A6, where teams like Black Falcon and Saudi Falcon Team Schubert compete to be repeat winners, while internationally known teams like AF Corse try to upset them.
America is represented in the A6 class by the newly formed DragonSpeed Racing, seeking an overall win with its Audi R8 LMS Ultra. The team’s driver lineup is packed with talent: Americans Eric Lux and Peter Aronson, Vicente Potolicchio from Venezuela, Germany’s Pierre Ehret, and Japan’s Hideki Onda.
DragonSpeed is the only U.S. team, but not the only team with Americans behind the wheel.
